Fur trimmed overshoe



Feb. 23, 1937. E, w DUNBAR 2,071,783

FUR TR IMMED OVERSHOE Filed Oct, 1, 1935 Patented Feb. 23, 19372,071,783 FUR TRIMIVIED OVERSHOE Ernest W. Dunbar,

Cambridge 7 Hudson, Mass, assignor to Rubber 00.,

Cambridge, Mass, a

corporation of Massachusetts Application October 1, 1935, Serial No.43,016

4 Glaims.

This invention relates to overshoes and is more especially concernedwith that type of rubber overshoe worn by the women.

Considerations of appearance and style often 5 make it desirable to trimfootwear of this type with fur. It is also preferable from thestandpoint of convenience to avoid the use of fasteners onsuch footwear.Usually the latter object can be readily accomplished in overshoes ofankle l heighth or lower, because of the fact that the upper of the shoeis made partly or wholly of rubber and therefore affords the stretch andelasticity necessary to hold the shoe on the foot while still permittingit to be easily taken off or 16 put on again. But when a fur trimming isstitched or otherwise secured to the margin of the upper the elasticityof this portion of the shoe necessarily is sacrificed. The presentinvention deals more especially with these con- 20 siderations. It aimsto devise a fur trimmed rubber overshoe, preferably devoid of fasteners,

which can be put on and taken off with the same convenience as the usualuntrimmed rubber overshoe.

The nature of the invention will be readily understood from thefollowing description when read in connection with the accompanyingdrawing and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in theappended claims.

In the drawing;

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an overshoe constructed in accordancewith this invention;

Fig. 2 is a similar view, with parts cut away in order better to showcertain details of con- 35 struction, and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the shoe without the trimming.

The main body of the shoe shown may be made by any convenient orsuitable method, the con- 40 struction illustrated comprising a rubbersole 2, a heel 3, and an upper 4 made of sheet rubber combined with asuitable lining fabric. In this particular shoe the upper is made in twosections joined together by a back seam 5, Fig. 2, and

45 a front seam 6. The rubber of course possesses an inherent stretchand elasticity and the lining material should have a degree of stretchsuited to the requirements of the particular design of shoe in which itis used. In order to give the 50 ankle height required, while stillfacilitating the operation of putting the shoe on and taking it off, theshoe is provided with front and rear portions 1 and 8, respectively,which projects considerably above the level of the intermediate side 55portions of the upper. In other words the sides are notched as shown at9 and HLFig. 3, while both the front and rear portions risesubstantially above the level of 'these notched sections.

A similar shape has been used in rubber footwear heretofore. 5 The furtrimming is applied in two sections.

The rear section, indicated at I2, starts at the notch 9 on one side ofthe shoe and runs around the margin of the upper to the notchill at theopposite side. This section is stitched to the 10 edge portion of theupper and naturally limits severely the elasticity of this part of theshoe. However, by leaving the front portion of the upper untrimmed withfur and cutting this part of the upper centrally from the top down intothe instep, as shown on IS, the natural elasticity of the upper materialin the forepart of the shoe is made available in producing the desiredstretch necessary to facilitate putting the shoe on and. pulling it off,and in addition the portion of the instep at opposite sides of the slit[3 are permitted to spread much more than otherwise would be possibleand thus affords increased room for the entrance or withdrawal of thefoot.

In order to give the shoe the appearance ofhaving a completely furtrimmed upper, a second strip of fur trimming I4 is sewed to the upperedge of the tongue l5. The top of this tongue is made considerably widerthan usual so that it extends almost from the notch 9 to notch Ill andthis entire edge is trimmed with fur. Consequently the two fur sectionsl2 and M at the back and front of the shoe cooperate to simulate closelythe appearance of a shoe with its upper edge fully trimmed with fur. Atthe same time the entire portion of the shoe in front of the notches 9and I0 is left with its normal elasticity and stretch, since none of thefur trimming is attached to this part of the upper. The tongue I5 isdesirably secured to the upper only at its lower 4 end, being otherwiseentirely free from the upper, so that it does not reduce or restrict theelasticity or extensibility of the forepart of the upper. This mayconveniently be done by slitting the lining at H, Fig. 2, and extendingthe lower end of the tongue through this slit so that the upper rubberply of the tongue will be united to the rubber ply of the upper duringthe vulcanizing operation. Normally the fur of the section l4 overliesthe upper edge of the slit l3 and partly conceals it.

Preferably a front piece iii of rubber, molded to imitate fasteners, issecured centrally to the instep portion of the shoe where it contributesto v the attractiveness and general design of the shoe.

The invention thus produces an overshoe which is substantially asconvenient to use as the ordinary untrimmed overshoe and which, inaddition, has the added attractiveness and the increased warmthfurnished by the fur trimming.

While I have herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of myinvention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied inother forms without departing from the spirit or scope thereof.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:-

1. A rubber overshoe'having an instep portion and being provided with afur trimming extending along the upper margin of the rear portion of theupper of the shoe from one side of the upper around the back portion tothe opposite side, a tongue in said shoe, said tongue underlying saidinstep portion and being secured at its lower portion thereto and freeat its upper end, and. a separate piece of fur trimming secured to theupper margin of said tongue and cooperating with the previouslymentioned trimming to give the effect of an upper completely trimmedwith fur.

2. A rubber overshoe having an instep portion and having an upperprovided with relatively deep notches in the opposite sides thereof andhaving front and rear portions projecting substantially above the levelof said notches, a strip of fur trimming secured to the margin of saidupper and extending from the notch on one side of the upper to that onthe other side, a tongue in said shoe, said tongue underlying saidinstep portion and being secured at its lower portion thereto and freeat its upper end, and a separate piece of fur trimming secured to theupper margin of said tongue and cooperating with the previouslymentioned fur trimming to give the efiect of an upper completely trimmedwith fur.

3. A rubber overshoe according to preceding claim 1, in which the upperof the shoe is centrally slit from its upper edge to a point in theinstep portion of the shoe and the trimming on said tongue partlyconceals said slit portion of the upper.

4. A rubber overshoe having an instep portion, and being provided with afur trimming extending along the upper margin of the rear portion of theupper of the shoe from one side of the upper around the back portion tothe opposite side, a tongue in said shoe underlying said instep portionand secured at its lower portion thereto and free at its upper end, saidtongue being shaped to provide an upper margin extending completelyacross the instep portion from a point at one side of the shoe to apoint at the other side of the shoe, and a separate piece of furtrimming secured to the upper margin of said tongue and cooperating withthe previously mentioned trimming to give the effect of an uppercompletely trimmed with fur.

ERNEST W. DUNBAR.

